High Men Pikemen
|upkeep_cost = |num_figures = |moves = |melee = * |defense = |resist = * |hits = |abilities = Negate First Strike Armor Piercing }} High Men Pikemen are a type of Normal Unit. This unit may be created at a High Men town, for the Construction Cost of . The town must already contain an Fighters' Guild for this to be possible. Like all Pikemen, High Men Pikemen represent the epitome of infantry. They possess a very powerful , whose strength is greatly increased thanks to this unit containing . Furthermore, this attack has the Armor Piercing property, which makes it very difficult to defend against. This unit also stands up very well to enemy Cavalry and other First Strike units. As with all units belonging to the High Men race, High Men Pikemen possess no special racial bonuses. High Men Pikemen require an Upkeep Cost of and to maintain. Failure to pay these costs will result in the unit being disbanded automatically. Unit Properties Physical Description High Men Pikemen are a group of men (humans), dressed in colored tunics and carrying pikes - long poles topped with large axe blades and spikes, used either for stabbing or for hacking at enemies while fending them off; or after a thrust, hooking and pulling an enemy forward into their pike thicket. When attacked by cavalry, the High Men Pikemen can use their pikes to dissuade any enemy head-on charge by planting them firmly into the ground facing the enemy unit. The spiked top of a Pike can also be used to pierce through enemy armor very easily. High Men Pikemen are a , containing when fully healed. Attack Properties High Men Pikemen possess a Melee Attack that, on its surface, already appears quite strong - but is in fact very strong for two reasons: the number of in this unit, and the Armor Piercing property it carries. Each Pikeman attacks with a strength of . Since Pikemen are produced from the Fighters' Guild, they will normally have an extra which increases this attack strength to . As a result, each Pikeman delivers on average with each attack. With all attacking in unison, this can amount to a very high damage output, which the target is going to be hard-pressed to block. Making matters even worse (for the target), the Pikemen's Armor Piercing ability means that the target only gets to make half as many Defense rolls as it normally would! With this combination of factors, the High Men Pikemen's attack is dangerous to all Normal Units, and can effectively kill low Fantastic Units. Even Heroes should fear the Pikemen's attack. With Experience, the attack grows even stronger, and will genuinely threaten enemy mid-tier Fantastic Units. Defense Properties The High Men Pikemen possess a Defense score of - just slightly better than the average for Normal Units. They can deflect about from any damage source, on average. This can reliably fend off some damage from enemy Spearmen or Swordsmen, but is unlikely to stop any serious attack. As with most Normal Units, each High Men Pikeman possesses only . In other words, each point of inflicted on this unit will kill off one of its . For purposes of defending against Curses and other combat maledictions, the High Men Pikemen have a very-low Resistance score of - barely enough to protect them from such effects. However this is still slightly higher than the Resistance score of most High Men units. Other Properties High Men Pikemen move at a slow , and can only traverse land tiles. The unit has no special movement properties. High Men Pikemen possess a useful combat ability called Negate First Strike. When the Pikemen are attacked by an enemy unit possessing First Strike, the enemy's First Strike does not work at all. Instead, the enemy unit delivers its Melee Damage simultaneously with the Pikemen, as per the normal combat damage rules. This allows High Men Pikemen to stand up to cavalry without fear of being overrun. The cavalry cannot use its advantage as an attacker. Note of course that Negate First Strike does nothing against any other enemy Special Attacks. Basic Strategy Pikemen are a step up from Halberdiers, and effectively outclass them in strength and usefulness. They are easily the strongest Melee infantry units in the game. While expensive, they should be used whenever possible to bolster the strength of advancing armies, possibly forgoing the creation of weaker Normal Units entirely, resources permitting. High Men Pikemen make excellent anti-cavalry troops, thanks to Negate First Strike. Enemy cavalry will need to fight on an even ground with the Pikemen, thus losing their primary advantage. When faced with large enemy cavalry forces, Pikemen are indispensable. High Men Pikemen are often superior in combat to enemy low-tier Normal Units. Though Pikemen are moderately-armored and will still suffer casualties in almost any fight, they deliver a hefty amount of damage to their opponents and can occasionally wipe an enemy unit out with one attack. Even well-armored targets do not stand up well to Pikemen, thanks to their Armor Piercing attack! High Men Pikemen can band together with other Pikemen or Swordsmen to take out a stronger enemy unit, up to and including mid-tier Fantastic Units. Again, expect casualties among the ranks even if you do win the fight. Experienced Pikemen, especially in large groups, can sometimes overpower very strong enemy units (high-tier Fantastic Units and/or high-level, well-equipped Heroes). Ability Overview Negate First Strike * When an enemy possessing First Strike attacks this unit in Melee combat, it does not get to use its First Strike at all. * Instead of delivering Melee Damage first, the enemy will deliver it simultaneously with the defender as all non-First Striking units do. Armor Piercing * Whenever this unit attacks an enemy target (whether with a Melee Attack or Ranged Attack) the target's rating is temporarily assumed to be 50% lower than it really is. * This ability makes it easier to cause damage to heavily-armored targets. Experience Table The following table illustrates how High Men Pikemen improve as they gain Experience. Any properties that are not listed here do not improve with Experience in any way. * To achieve this level, either the Warlord Retort or the Crusade spell must be in play. ** To achieve this level, both the Warlord Retort and the Crusade spell must be in play simultaneously. Average Damage Output The table below details the average amount of damage that each in a High Men Pikemen unit will deliver with each type of attack, based on . It can be used in comparison to the target's Defense rating to figure out the chance of hurting that target. Acquisition High Men Pikemen may be produced in any High Men Town. A town must contain a Fighters' Guild to be able to produce High Men Pikemen. Should a town lose its Fighters' Guild, it can no longer produce High Men Pikemen until a replacement structure is built. Note that this building requirement means that High Men Pikemen produced in towns will always start as "Regular" troops (one free Experience Level), giving them a small but significant bonus above the default unit strength. The Construction Cost of this unit is . High Men Pikemen may appear for hire as Mercenaries. They may already have some Experience on being hired, and several units may be hired simultaneously. Hiring these units requires a certain cost in that depends on many different factors. High Men Pikemen Mercenaries have the same Upkeep Cost as a normally-constructed unit. Category:Units Category:Normal Units Category:High Men Category:Pikemen